The Basics

To begin, it must be understood that most medical terminology derives from Latin or Greek.
If you didn't study these in school, or even if you did, I suggest you visit the local library and
check out a medical dictionary (or perhaps your doctor will let you borrow one). Dorland's
Medical Dictionary is a handy one to start with. By no means will you become an expert
overnight -- remember, it takes years for that. But at least if you can understand some of the
words and how they're formed, you'll be well on your way toward making sense of what you
read and hear at treatment updates regarding new medications and research data.

Start by looking at the whole word in question. For example "pancytopenia." Then break it
down into its various parts. Pan-cyto-penia. In this example, pan means "all" or "total," cyto
refers to cells, and penia indicates a deficiency. So the definition of pancytopenia is a
deficiency of all blood cells. Got it? O.K.

Let's try another one. How about "lipodystrophy" (I know that's a favorite). Let's break it
down. Lipo refers to fat; trophy is talking about growth or development. And anything with
the word dys in it has an abnormality. So there it is! Lipodystrophy: An abnormal
development of fat. Anyone for liposuction?

Here's an even simpler one, "leukocyte." We've already learned that cyto refers to cells. If
you look up the definition of leuko, you'll see that it means white. So a leukocyte would be a
white blood cell. Ta-Da! It should now be easy to figure out what leukocytopenia means. And
if you knew that erythro means red, how would you say "deficiency of red blood cells" in
medical-ese?

All right, so you're not as enthusiastic about this as I am. That's O.K. I'm sure as you
gradually learn this stuff you will eventually come across some word (one that you hear all
the time but never understand) and you'll be able to use this system to figure it out. I can hear
you now, "Aha! So that's what perianal pruritis means. Cool."

Here is a list of commonly used medical terms to start you on your way:
Prefix/Suffix Example
a/vir/emia
a = an absence of
(no virus in the blood)
neur/algia
alg(ia) = pain
(nerve pain)
anti/retroviral
anti = attacks
(attacks retroviruses)
contra/ceptive
contra = against
(against conception)
macro/cyte
cyt(e,o) = cell(s)
(big cell)
 dys/plasia
dys = abnormal
(abnormal growth)
tox/emia
emia = in the blood
(toxins in the blood)
endo/scopy
endo = inside
(examining the inside)
erythro/cyte
erythr(o) = red
(red blood cell)
gastr/itis
gastr(o) = stomach
(stomach inflammation)
osteo/genesis
gen(esis) = origin, new
(formation of new bone)
hyper/glyc/emia
glyc(o) = glucose (sugar)
(high blood sugar)
hemato/logy
hem(ato) = blood
(study of the blood)
hepat/itis
hepat(o) = liver
(liver inflammation)
hyper/lipid/emia
hyper = high, elevated
(high blood lipid levels)
intra/muscular
intra = within
(in the muscle)
pancreat/itis
itis = inflammation
(inflammation of the pancreas)
leuko/penia
leuk(o) = white
(deficiency of white blood cells)
lipo/dys/trophy
lip(o) = fat
(abnormal fat development)
cyto/lysis
lysis = break up
(breaking up cells)
mal/nutrition
mal = bad, poor
(poor nutrition)
mega/dose
mega(lo) = large
(large dose)
my/algia
my(o) = muscle
(muscle pain)
osteo/pathy
osteo = bone
(bone disease)
 osteo/penia
penia = deficiency
(deficiency in the bones)
peri/oral
peri = around
(around the mouth)